Parents hailed its approval as a crowning feat, while others predicted a crushing folly. Florida TaxWatch, a respected financial watchdog group, said passing Amendment 9 would be a "blunder of major fiscal proportions."

Seven years later, that warning is coming true.

Florida school districts are understandably wringing their hands ahead of the hard count that kicks in next year, compelling districts to meet class-size goals in every "core" classroom. School districts already are struggling, even with the more flexible school-wide average legislators last year approved to give cash-poor districts a reprieve.

We need to give schools a permanent breather. Voters have realized the goal of shrinking class sizes. But at the cost of punching school bus-sized holes in the state budget -- and without enough evidence that lower class sizes led to improved scholastic performance. Lawmakers must act to loosen the financial noose on schools.

Voters were righteously outraged seven years ago. A report issued by amendment backers outlined what they justifiably called an education "crisis." The state ranked 44th in student-teacher ratios, 46th in SAT scores, 49th in high-school graduation rates, and dead last in per-capita spending on education.

Amendment 9 was cast as a "dramatic act by the people of Florida, a profoundly pro-education and pro-opportunity step forward for Florida's children."

Yet, school districts have been stumbling to keep up ever since, despite a long phase-in period.

This year, 17 districts, including Orange and Polk counties, failed to hit their class-size targets. Fortunately, all were forgiven the senseless penalties that would have required the already cash-strapped schools to thin classrooms by shifting money from their operating budgets to their capital budgets.

Things will only get worse when school districts shift from school-wide classroom averages to the hard class-by-class cap. Effective the 2010-11 school year, 18 students will be the max for pre-k through third grade, 22 in grades 4-8, and 25 in grades 9-12. What happens when a child transfers to another school mid-year and puts a class above the cap?

The School Board estimates districts will need some $391 million next school year to hire 6,447 teachers to fully phase in the law. That'll mean some masterful juggling given the projected $2 billion crater in the 2010 state budget.

Worse, this all may be for nothing. A recent Florida Department of Education report concluded that there is "no definitive answer" on whether class-size reductions boost student performance. It also notes, "The increase in expenditures due to the class-size reduction is not a cost-effective means to increase student performance."

It's time to drop the curtain on this bit of theater.

State Sen. Mike Bennett is trying to build momentum to repeal and redo the amendment. Meanwhile Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, intends to file a joint measure with state Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, to freeze the counts at school averages.

Something must be done, whether it's legislators providing schools relief within the contours of the current amendment, or giving voters the chance to reconsider by calling for a statewide referendum.

TaxWatch was right in calling the amendment a blunder. Refusing to calm the financial storm it has created, and will continue to create, would be an even bigger mistake.